CAE Speaking Phrases

Likes/dislikes
Im into
Im a keen/avid (surfer)
Im keen on/fond of (surfing)
I (go surfing) to unwind, to escape the
stresses and strains of my day to day life.
I like nothing more than (to go surfing)

Opinion
As far as Im concerned,
As I see it,
From my point of view,
In my humble opinion,
Id say that

Im itching to try/go. (I really want to)

Describing pictures
The first thing that strikes me about this
picture is
Comparing/contrasting
Both pictures show

The thing that really jumps out of this

picture is

In this picture they look as though they

are. Whereas/while in this picture

In this picture it looks as if/though they

are

In contrast

They could/might/may be

On the other hand

They could/might/may have just

Im pretty sure that theyre feeling
Id guess that they are

Agreeing
Disagreeing
We see eye to eye.
We dont see eye to eye.
Yeah, Id go along with that.
I take your point but
Absolutely!
I tend to disagree with you there.
You took the words right out of my mouth.
Thats not always the case
I couldnt agree more.
I beg to differ
You have a point there.
Isnt it more a case of
Im with you 100% on this one.
Starting to make a conclusion

Asking for opinion

Lets get down to the nitty gritty.

Whats your take on.?

The bottom line is we have to choose one Where do you stand on.?
Its a tough one, Im torn between and
.

In my opinion., would you go along with

that?

Shall we go with .?

What are your thoughts on this?

Impressive structures

Personalising
Speaking from personal experience,
For me personally,..
This is a topic that is particularly close to
my heart
Its funny I was just thinking about this the
other day.
My gut/initial reaction is
If I were to choose one of these situations
(part 2 pictures), Id go with because

Another point Id like to add about is

Its also worth bearing in mind that
Coming back to what (Javi) was saying
about . Id also like to point out that
I think its important not to forget that
The vast majority of people tend to think
that
At the end of the day
When alls said and done

Tips
Eye-contact

Asking for repetition

Active listening

I beg your pardon, I didnt catch that.

Open body language

Sorry would you mind repeating that?

Speak up

Could you repeat the question please?

Dont dominate